Rainy Days

One of the things I'd forgotten over winter is how a rain storm can have the most beautiful effects. Sure, the view is a bit dimmed and we can't see the sea, the mud off the building site may be clogging the roads but things are growing.


The shallots arrived in January, briefly living on some kitchen paper under our sideboard until planting out in mid February. I was worried. Had I done something wrong? Turns out all I needed was a storm for them to oblige me with their beautiful green shoots.


We saw last year how lettuce would grow like mad after a storm. Even when it was lashing it down, with thunder, with lightning, with harsh sea winds. The lettuce revelled in it. In fact the only thing that killed my crops last year was too much sun, on a baked balcony it didn't survive after mid May, and only snow falling directly on the leaves had any effect in winter. True to form the last two days have seen my formerly pathetic seedlings double in size.


Then Stephen's baby, his blackcurrant. It's been growing slowly but steadily since it settled in. The rain has seen it explode with green. It's making us giddy with anticipation.


Speaking of anticipation we were kindly sent some Oca which are waiting in the place vacated by the shallots for their turn in the pots. Hopefully we'll manage a decent, if constrained, crop. And with a bit more luck we'll have some tubers to pass on ourselves next year.